I'm new to this group, and was diagnosed with COPD (chronic bronchitis) right after a quad-bypass surgery in November 2014. On O2 therapy 24/7 since January 2016. No tanks, just using an Inogen O2 concentrator. Also got the special backpack so I can garden and do other things a 25-foot cannula will not permit. In the house I use the larger Respironics O2 concentrator with a 25 foot cannula, which gives me access to most of the house. While gardening or doing other physical chores, I need to set the concentrator to 5 lpm, and 3 lpm if just walking the dogs. I keep the Respironics unit set at 3 lpm, which lets me prepare meals (I am the cook and laundress since my wife went back to college to get a masters 28 years ago) and other normal activities. The 25 foot cannula gives me access to my den, studio (I am an artist), the master bedroom, dining room, kitchen, laundry, guest bath, and TV room. Most of the time, I forget about the O2 and my 25 foot tether, and joke about it to friends by telling them, "some choose to wear charm bracelets and I wear an O2 concentrator." We all accessorize to our own tastes. All in all, I always take my medical adventures with optimism, and ALWAYS follow the various doctors' orders. If I were pushed off the Empire State Building and around the 22nd floor you asked me how I was doing, I would answer, "Okay so far."

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Hi Jim - I'm a 71 year old grandma who can relate to your post. I use the same equipment as you. I Often joke with the grandkids that I have a trunk like an elephant. Some days get me down but on the most part I'm happy to be alive. What saved me was the Inogen portable concentrator. It was expensive but worth every penny. Anyway I enjoyed your post and your optimism. With this decease you need a sense of humor.

My 17 grandkids love my eternal optimism also, along with my 9 gGrandkids. I changed my lifestyle only a bit because I have always lived life to its fullest, and I refuse to grow up. I'm 74 going on 16!

If you are short of breath on exertion, your blood O2 level is dangerously low. Low O2 means the muscles do not get sufficient O2 and they begin to deteriorate, and since the singularly most important muscle in your body is your heart, you shorten your life. I would get one of the small O2 monitors ($34) from a drugstore chain and be checking it both at rest and doing various physical chores. 92 is the magic number most doctors agree on that you should not go below, and also the number at the NIH website.